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The prime minister is considering new nationwide lockdown restrictions, which could be imposed in England next week.
Whitehall sources confirmed that Boris Johnson met with his top cabinet colleagues on Friday to discuss possible tightening of restrictions in light of the worsening. coronavirus infection rates and hospital admissions data.
It was understood that Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove were present at the discussion on what steps might be taken.
The possible shift in focus comes after a week in which Downing Street had insisted that the tiered regional framework was still the correct one, despite a ‘firewall’ lock being imposed on Wales, France and Germany, both shifting gears. regional restrictions to nationals in light of the increase in cases. .
Earlier Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab he had said “we are confident that we have implemented the appropriate measures, which is not a blanket approach.”
Number 10 has yet to issue a response to reports that the prime minister could hold a press conference on Monday or that more restrictions are imminent.
A high-ranking government source quoted in The Times newspaper said no final decision had been made, but added: “The data is really bad.
“We are seeing COVID-19 increasing across the country and hospitals are struggling to cope. There has been a change in our position. “
Labor shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “We are in a deeply serious situation with the coronavirus spreading fiercely.
“Boris Johnson should have used half of the school term for a limited time on the track to reduce infections, fix Test and Trace and save lives.
“It is urgent that Boris Johnson describe the action he will take now to control the virus and fulfill his promise to get the R (breeding) number below 1 quickly.”
On Friday, documents recently released by the government’s Scientific Group on Pandemic Influenza Modeling (SPI-MO) revealed that England has breached its “reasonable worst case” scenario for COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions.
The scientists also warned that the number of daily deaths from coronavirus in England is in line with that scenario, but “will almost certainly exceed it in the next two weeks.”
It came after 24,405 new positive cases were confirmed on Friday and another 274 deaths related to the virus were reported.
England’s R number has declined slightly, from a high of 1.4 to a high of 1.3, but this still means the epidemic is growing rapidly, new government figures warn.
